Karin Kobayashi
Karin Kobayashi also known by her codename Phantom Hunter "Styx" (ファントム ハンター スティックス, Fantomu Haanta Sutikkusu) is a Hunter who works for the government specifically, targeting anyone they want out their radar as long as they fulfill their promise of taking away her family’s debts. Karin was originally one of the last members of a Samurai school who were, unfortunately, losing popularity due to the rise of heroes and people not wanting to learn how to fight anymore. To keep the legacy alive, they took loans from the government that they would hope to pay back some day but never could. Instead of having their clan and livelihoods taken away. They instead gave the government a young Karin to do their bidding. Turning her into a weapon with the fake promise that if she does enough jobs, the loan will be removed and she will be set free. Appearance Karin is a woman of average height, standing at 5’5 ft this does not take her intimidating presence away, however. As one look at her strikes fear into the hearts of most she meets, except for a few brave souls. Karin’s appearance could be compared to that of a porcelain doll. Her skin is extremely pale, to the point where it could be considered unhealthy and her facial expression shows no emotion whatsoever, always donning a poker face. Her pitch black eyes show no happiness, or sadness or even anger. They’re just completely “empty”. This is what scares those she meets more than anything. Under her eyes, eye bags are clearly visible from lack of sleep, due to Karin’s workaholic nature. Her hair black in color and is very short and she even cuts it herself, realizing one day that her hair was slowing her during combat it is also unruly as Karin does not comb her hair very often if at all. Others have noted that if Karin took care of her appearance, she would probably look like a “classic Japanese beauty”. Her appearance is sometimes often confused with that of a child, due to her being somewhat petite and small. She is of a lithe frame and her body could also be considered “underdeveloped” for someone her age as her chest is not as grand as she would like it to be, and she could definitely use a few centimeters in height. Karin is not a fashionable woman, preferring to stick to black outfits as they help her camouflage during her job, which she does almost all the time. Leaving no time for the woman to use anything that is pretty or even casual. She generally sports a black sailor uniform with a red scarf, a red belt tied around her skirt and black boots. She also wears red forearm guards for protection. Personality and Traits Karin is a woman who befits her name. She is indeed just like a Phantom, quiet to the point where others usually don’t notice her. She is a loner, one who does not talk unless talked to, and even then responds with short answers such as “yes” or “no”, coupled with her monotone voice it is hard to know if she is actually human or not. Additionally, she also does not take jokes very well. This all points out that Karin is definitely not good at socializing due to being somewhat isolated from society. She was homeschooled and would only interact with members of her family and even then would mostly keep to herself. Karin could only be described as obedient, following the orders of her superior to a tee. To this day, these tendencies have remained with her. When alone, Karin is slightly more relaxed than when around others and often thinks about how her family is doing and reminisces about meeting them. Her behavior around others is pretty similar as well, just that she doesn’t let out her emotions as much. She is polite to both allies and enemies, even when she is about to assassinate, her father teaching her to “be polite” to others no matter what. This makes her seem rather strange as she apologizes to the person she is about to kill or to any who witness the scene, although this is rarely the case. She doesn’t just apologize only to be polite though, she actually apologizes to her father. As a young girl the most important thing she was taught was to only fight to defend herself and those she loved, not to kill. In truth, Karin does not like killing as she breaks her own principles. Yet she does, because to her, the Kobayashi clan is everything. Their legacy more important than whatever moral code one can think of. This just shows Karin’s dedication to her family. She would gladly swim through dirt and mud for them, and even die if it is necessary. This is exactly why she willingly agreed to be sold to the government. She feels a need to repay her family, she feels like it is her responsibility to make them bask in glory once again. No matter how much it takes. This is also one of her downfalls because she would give everything for the preservation of the place where she grew up as well as her clan and believes that her relatives would do the same for her. She is unable to accept the reality or share that her family doesn’t want her back and that she will probably have to keep working, and killing for their good, not the clan or her.   Despite appearing to be very calm, underneath it lies the stubbornness to achieve her goal. Wanting to pay the “debt” she owes the government, most of her time is spent doing jobs, to the point where she barely sleeps. This stubbornness has caused her to become a workaholic. Her obsession with her job is so bad it could be compared to a 10-year-old’s obsession with Fortnite. She also insists on only working alone, believing others will impede her work and will only get hurt if they get involved. On her free time, she actually does meditate. Working for countless hours without any sorts of breaks are generally harmful to her, so for at least 15 minutes a day, she goes blank to relieve stress. She has stated that this is her favorite thing to do as it calms her down a lot if she becomes ‘’too’’ headstrong. Ironically she likes Drama TV-Shows and movies. Karin also has a soft spot for children being the only age group she refuses to kill as well as animals. She even has a pet black cat at home, who she cares about as much as she cares about her parents and others. History The Kobayashi was a pretty average family who lived in Japan, the one thing that differentiated them from the typical Japanese family would be the fact that they actually practiced the arts of the ancient Samurais in Japan and their blood ran in the veins of the family. To maintain themselves they trained and offered martial arts classes to the public. Karin, who would continue their lineage since a young age had known a lot about her family’s teachings and was a very disciplined child who was grateful for her relatives. Her life was good, though different from most children. However, business would soon begin to decline due to the rising of heroes. People did not feel threatened anymore, therefore they were honestly not interested in learning how to defend themselves and learning the way of “Samurais” was just not appealing anymore. This hurt the family’s main source of income, slowly losing their money and going bankrupt. It reached a point where their dojo was closed and even furniture was taken one by one. Karin did not understand much of what was going except that she was losing the place where she grew up. Losing everything they ever loved, the government offered them some help. They would give them a loan that they would have to pay back the next year. They were saved, given a glimmer of hope by those that governed the country. They took hold of this opportunity and began to work. The dojo did prosper for the first few months due to the combined efforts of every single Kobayashi, but once again the same thing happened. A year passed, and not only did they not have any money, but they couldn’t pay their debt back. Karin’s father, who had always worked so hard, even became alcoholic. They were never given hope, they were tricked. It was the government’s idea all along, or so they figured. Having no money to give back, and a written contract the government gave them one more chance. They would take the family’s youngest member as their own, additionally, any money that the girl made would go back to her family. Karin thought her parents would never accept these terms, but her drunk father did. And so, she became the government’s lap dog doing whatever she was told to do. Her first few jobs were simple, she collected or informed others of the loans they must pay, much like the government did to her family but as she grew older the jobs became more tedious. Karin would have to get involved in fights and as her quirk developed she was employed as an assassin. Cleaning up their messes, such as heroes that wouldn’t cooperate with them or powerful politicians. She’d initially cry during these missions but would grow used to it, as long as she did enough work, her clan would take her back. When it became obvious that someone was killing all these people, she revealed herself as the Phantom Hunter: Styx. An enigma whose name invokes fear in the hearts of those she strikes down. Quirk and Abilities Physical Prowess Overall Abilities: Expert Swordsmanship: As a member of the Kobayashi household, it is only natural that Karin is skilled with the sword. Since she was a child, she would practice with an Iaito; a blunt sword used as a practice weapon for beginners in . This was the style that her parents would teach her and would become the main base of her personal style. Unaware at that time, Iaido actually perfectly suits Karin. Since it is a style that’s focused on quickly drawing the sword, with the use of her Martial Art she can take an ordinary art to another level. The teachings of her family would make her sword style become precise, controlled and fluid. Due to it, she is able to strike the exact place where her mind tells her too with the proper amount of strength. She is also able to seamlessly switch between attack and defense if required. Later on, she would learn the prohibited style known as which let her gain the essential techniques of drawing and cutting with a sword. This lets her be as efficient as she can be as an assassin, using her knowledge of to end fights quickly and get the job done. Overall, her style isn’t flashy or focuses on any specific aspect, instead, it is based on quick movements with the usage of her quirk to cut the opponent before they realize it. While her attacks lack power, the technique she uses makes up for it and can still easily overwhelm unprepared opponents. *'Passive Blade' *'Killer Blade' *'Pillage Blade' Quirk Brainstorm (ブレインストーム, Bureinsutoumu) is an Emitter-Type Quirk that allows Karin to control neural impulses to their fullest. Brainstorm allows Karin to manipulate the electrical signals in her or other’s cells for a variety of purposes. The quirk is a fusion of her parent’s, her father who had a bio-electricity quirk. Allowing him to enhance his own prowess by manipulating the bio-electric currents in his body and her mother who had a quirk that allowed her to control the nervous system of others. Out of these two, was born the quirk Brainstorm; hence the name. It is a perfect fusion, utilizing aspects from the former two abilities.  Originally, her usage of this quirk was rather lackluster. Her entire family was unaware of her potential since she was only capable of shocking others momentarily by touching their head. They never suspected the actual power that their daughter carried. It was only after she was forced to leave the household that her ability to use her gift improved. By training under a specialized teacher of the government, she discovered the different things she could do with her quirk. Most which were related to combat. By electrocuting certain parts of the brain, she can manipulate the electrical signals in her and other’s cells, allowing her to do a myriad of things. Mainly, she is able to control neural impulses, which are electrical discharges that travel along the nerve fibers within organisms. She is able to control others like puppets, their thoughts, and consciousness resting on the palm of her hand through this method. She has also used it to assassinate her targets, by either taking away neural impulses or overcharging the brain. If there are any spectators at the event, which is rarely the case, she can manipulate their memories by blocking parts of the brain. Karin can also use her abilities to enhance her combat, mainly her senses, allowing her to easily gain the upper hand in close-range. This quirk is truly fit for someone like Karin, although it can be used a variety of purposes its assets are most useful in the art she excels at; assassination. Although it’s weakness lies in the fact that for optimal usage, she must make contact with a person’s head. If her opponent is aware of this, they can make the proper counter-strategies to defeat her. Also, she can only focus on one person at a time. This quirk is meant for 1v1 battles, against multiple enemies it is also easier to lose. Lastly, overuse of the quirk causes Karin’s brain to hurt as well. Named Moves Relationships Equipment Quotes Trivia *Her theme song is From Shadows by Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams. Category:Females Category:Bounty Hunters Category:Swordwoman Category:Emitter Quirk Users